1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to high-volume, franking machines that allow users to conveniently and automatically cause the correct postage indicia to be placed on a large number of mail pieces. More particularly, the present invention relates to the control panels of franking machines for monitoring the operation of the machines, and for entering commands and data.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
High-speed digital franking machines, such as those marketed by Ascom Autelca AG, the assignee of the present Letters Patent, are apparatuses that allow a postal customer to both rapidly determine the correct postage for a high volume of mail items, and to affix a postage indicia on the mail item in an automated or semi-automated manner. Determining the correct postage can involve such steps as weighing the mail, sizing the mail, and determining the mail destination. The general components often include: an initial feeder for individually feeding pieces of mail into the machine, a weighing machine for weighing each piece of mail; a user interface for monitoring and controlling the operation of the machine and for entering data as needed, a postage calculator for calculating the correct postage for each piece of mail; a postage affixer for affixing indicia representing the correct postage on each piece of mail; and a machine discharger for discharging the mail from the machine. The postage may be printed on a sticker and then affixed to the flat (e.g., envelope, postcard, etc.) or parcel, or it may be printed directly onto the mail.
An increased demand for franking machines is partly due to the willingness of various postal authorities to allow private parties to generate their own postage indicia, provided there are secure methods for payment, authentication, fraud prevention and the like. Such a system includes the United States Postal Service's Information-Based Indicia Program (IBIP).
Essential to the operation of a self-contained franking machine, is the control panel. The control panel allows the user to both monitor the operation of the franking machine, as well as enter critical data and commands or directives. Various displays have been used or proposed, including, inter alia, flat panel displays, CRTs, and touch screen displays. The display can be a series of separate displays activated automatically, or by the user.
Regardless of the display technology used, what is always desirable, and has never quite been sufficient in the prior art, is a more user-friendly control panel and its associated displays. One particular problem with prior art franking machine display approaches is that there is no user-friendly way of determining the previous actions (data or commands) with regard to a currently-displayed category of information or commands of interest. Especially as relates to mandatory information needed for the franking process (e.g., mail class and other information), there is a need to conveniently reach the previous status of such information and to effect change when desired.